Ribbon vibrator loading means



Jan. 5, 1960 J. c. MORRIS RIBBON VIBRATOR LOADING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Au:- 4, 1958 V/ w 5 mm W T 0 0 N 7 T W A N A N O H L 0 J Jan. 5, 1960 J. c. MORRIS RIBBON VIBRATOR LOADING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4, 1958 6 H N W m m M Q J H mm m M Q l a N 9* %N Nw Q. Q W. km wm mm wm United States Patent Rand Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 4, 1958, Serial No. 752,995 11 Claims. (Cl. 197-159) This invention relates to ribbon carriers, as employed in typewriters or other writing machines and in particular to means. by which the ribbon vibrator can be lifted to a.

position. accessible to the operator for the easy changing of a worn ribbon.

In the limited area available in a typewriter, the loading and unloading of a ribbon has been a problem because of the inaccessibility of the ribbon vibrator located down behind the type guide and surrounded by other mechanism. it possible to lift the ribbon vibrator to an accessible position and at the same time open the vibrator auto matically so that insertion or removal of the ribbon is facilitated and can be done without soiling the fingers.

A further object of the invention is to mount the vibrator in such a manner that after a new ribbon has been placed therein, the operator without manipulation, or further attention to the parts can bring the ribbon to the printing zone for normal use by starting the usual typing operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention are to provide an improved ribbon carrier of the foregoing character which is of simple and practical construction, which is highly efiicient and reliable in operation, and which can be used with any standard form of typewriter.

The invention will be most readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in front to rear section, through the center of a typewriter, showing the operating mechanism and the ribbon carrier.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the upper part of the ribbon vibrator and its mounting as shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 showing two operational positions of the ribbon carrier.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4 showing the automatic means used to restore the vibrator to operating position after loading, and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 showing the vibrator structure in detail.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 indicates generally a power mechanism of awell known type for actuating the type bars ofa writing machine when a key lever 11 is depressed to engage a cam 12 with a constantly operating power roll 13 to actuate a power arm 14 and project an associated type bar in printing operation, as fully shown in an application of common assignee Evart G. Israelson,

Serial No. 570,978 filed March 12, 1956, now US. Patent No. 2,862,591. The latter is applied to a noiseless typewriter and the present invention, while also illustrated in connection with the power, mechanism of a noiseless machine, may be equally well applied toany formof typewriter.

Each power arm 14 in the noiseless machine, as shown in Fig.1, operates a bell crank cam 16 whose depending portion 17, through a common bail 18, pulls on a tie rod 19 to operate the usual escapement each time a type key is struck. The tie rod 19 carries a collar 20, one side of which is bevelled as at 21, to impart a pivotal movement to a latch 22 (Fig. 5) for releasing the vibrator or-ribbon carrier as will be later explained. An extension 23 on each cam 16 rocks a ribbon universal bar 24 It is an object of this invention to make versal bar 24 whichpullsonthe.escapement tie. rod 19.v

to vibrate the ribbon carrier, indicatedgenerally as at 26, each time that a key lever 11 is operated. The ribbon vibrator, Figs. 2 and 3, consists of a-holder 27 of substantially Y-shape supported in its shank portion 28, by a bolt-in-aslot connection 29, for free vertical movement on a frame portion 31 of the machine.

The upper end of the holder presents diverging arms 32, each of which is slotted or cutout as at 33 and 34" to accommodate a carbon ribbon; to reduce weight and to form the fingers 36 and 37 defining said. slots, the finger 37 being slightly shorterthan an. adjacent or outer finger 36. The nose end 39. of an eye-forming'arm 41 coacts. with finger 37 toimprisonthe ribbonin a space formed. by the adjacent edges of the finger-37 and the-edge of i the arm 41.

On the, rear surface of'thedivergingarms 32 there is pivoted, as at 42, the eye'arms 41 which terminateat their lower ends, adjacent the crotch formed by the junction of arms 32, in cam edges 43 and in tabs 44,

connected by a spring 45, for yieldably' maintaining the edges of thecams 43 in engagement with an operating. stud or roller 46. The latter is mounted on one legof a finger lever 47, of bell crank shape, pivoted as at 48-to a card guide 49 or other convenient part of the machine and presenting at its free end a finger knob 51 through the medium of which the. operator. may swing the lever 47, in clockwise direction, to cause the stud or roller 46 to open theeye arms-41w allow for manual removal of the ribbon 52' from the slots 33;

shown in Fig. 2.

through upper and lower screw-in-a-slot connections 57 and at its upper end is hooked into an opening 53 in the lever 47 adjacent the operating end of the latter. At its lower end the latch bar is shaped on its rear edge to provide a latch tab 59 (Fig; 6) for overriding engagement with the latch detent 22, above referred to,

which is mounted on a suitable bracket secured to thelower portion of the frame plate 31. The detent 22 is biased to latching position by a tension spring 61.

When the operator wishes to remove the old ribbon,

sheswings the lever 47 clockwise from the Fig. 2 posi-- tion, against the resistance of the spring 53, with the result that the stud 46, which is seated in the notch formed by the obliquely disposed cam edges 43, Willlift the holder 27 to the Fig, 3 position without opening the arms 41, which are held by the spring 45. As seen in Figs. 2 and 6, the shank 28 of the holder, at the crotch portion thereof, is bent to provide-a rearwardly extending; limit tab 62 and when the upward movement of the holder 27 is arrested by the slide'mounting 29 the con-- tinued movement of the stud roller 46 will force the lower ends of the arms 41 apart to open the eye portions: thereof until the roller 46 abuts the tab 62 and move ment of the lever 47 is arrested. While the lever is being: swung clockwise, the latch bar 54 is being pulled up and as the tab 62 limits the movement of the lever, the bar- 54 is latched up by the latch 22 snapping beneath the When the new ribbon isrin place, the operator-resumes. normal typing withthe resultthat the; first key struck will cause a bell crankcam 16,, to; rock theribbon uniand causes rotation of the latch 22 to free the latch bar Pjatented..-Ian.. 5, 1960 3 54 which is forced down by spring 53 acting through lever 47, restoring the parts to the Fig. 2 position.

The vibrator is adjusted for different movements to bring the black and red zones of the ribbon to the printmg zone, or silenced for stencil cutting operations and this adjustment does not interfere with the vibrator loadmg means. When the ribbon universal bar 24 is rocked (Fig. 1) it swings a vibrator link 63, connected thereto through linkage 64, to raise and lower the ribbon carrier 26 a distance determined by the position of an adjustable fulcrum pin 66 mounted on a lever arm 67, held in various positions of adjustment, by a spring detent 68. The arm 67 is moved by a link 69 controlled from a suitable color indicator at the side or front of the machine and which is so well known as to not require illustration. As the fulcrum pin 66 moves to different positions in a linear slot 71 in link 63 the throw of the operating end thereof is varied to place the red or black zones of the ribbon at the printing point and when the pin is in the lateral slot 72 there is no movement imparted to the carrier so that the ribbon is not vibrated.

While there has been shown and described what is considered to be a desirable and novel embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that changes in form could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is not the wish to be limited to the precise form herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of the invention as hereinbefore set forth and hereinafter claimed.

: What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon and for operating a carriage escapement, said vibrating means including a holder movable to bring the ribbon toward and away from the printing zone in normal typing operation, arm means pivoted to the holder for movement to open and closed positions and coacting in closed position with said holder to imprison the ribbon in the holder, means for raising the holder beyond the printing zone and moving said arm means to open position for removal of the ribbon from the holder, latch means for detaining the holder in raised position and means controlled by one of said key controlled means for releasing said latch means.

- 2. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from the printing zone, said vibrating means including a ribbon holder having diverging portions and pivoted arms coacting with the holder to imprison a ribbon therebetween, means for raising the holder above said printing zone, said holder raising means being operable to swing said arms to ribbon releasing position when the holder is elevated, means for maintaining said holder in elevated position, and means for releasing said holder from elevated position.

3. In a writing machine, in combination, key con trolled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from printing position and for operating a carriage escapement, said vibrating means including a holder having diverging arms terminating in ribbon supporting end portions, eye arms pivoted to said holder arms and biased for coacting relation with said ribbon supporting end portions to imprison a ribbon therein, cam means on the lower ends of said eye arms, a stud movable between said cam means to initially lift the holder to a limit position above the printing position and thereafter move said arms out of coacting relation to free said ribbon when the holder reaches said limit position, and means for moving said stud.

- 4. In a writing machine, as set forth in claim 3, in which said stud moving means includes a lever and a limit stop on said holder engageable by said stud when the arms are moved to free the ribbon.

5. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from a printing position and for operating a carriage escapement, said vibrating means including a holder, means for limiting the upward movement of the holder, arms pivoted to said holder and biased to eye forming position to imprison a ribbon in the holder, a'lever having a stud for engaging the arms to lift the holder to its limit position above the printing position and thereafter open said arms to free the ribbon, a stop on the holder against which said stud limits and means for holding the lever with the stud in stop engaging position.

6. A writing machine, as set forth in claim 5, in which said lever holding means includes a latch and a member on said carriage escapement operating means for releasing said latch and a spring connected to said lever for returning said holder to key controlled operating position.

7. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from a printing position and for operating a carriage escapement, said vibrating means including a holder having a slidably mounted shank portion and divergent arms constituting a ribbon carrier, means for limiting the movement of the holder, arms pivoted to the holder for eye forming engagement with the holder to imprison a ribbon therein, said arms being shaped to provide opposed cam edges, a finger lever having a stud movable between said cam edges to lift the holder and swing the arms to ribbon release position, and means for adjusting the extent of movement of said vibrating means.

8. In a. writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for operating type bars and for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from a printing point and operating a carriage escapement, a carrier for the ribbon movable to the printing point by said vibrating means, manually controlled means for moving the carrier to position the ribbon beyond the printing point independently of said vibrating means for removal from the carrier, and means releasable by operation of said carriage escapement means for maintaining said manually controlled means in position to support the carrier in position for ribbon removal.

9. In a writing machine, as set forth in claim 8, in which said manually controlled means is biased to cause retracting movement of said carrier when said maintaining means is released.

10. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from a printing position including cam means, bail means actuated by said cam means, a vibrator including a ribbon holder operated by said bail means, and means for manually lifting said vibrator to position the ribbon above the printing position, independently of said bail means, and release the ribbon from said holder.

11. In a writing machine, in combination, key controlled means for vibrating a ribbon toward and away from a printing position, carriage escapement means operated by said vibrating means, a ribbon holder actuated by said vibrating means, said holder including diverging arms and a shank portion mounted for limited sliding movement, and arms pivoted to said diverging arms and coacting at one end with said holder to imprison a ribbon, the opposite ends of the pivoted arms being bevelled to present edge cam portions, a manually operable spring biased lever, for lifting the holder above the printing position, and including a stud between said cam portions for moving said pivoted arms to release the ribbon, a latch, a latch bar connected to said lever and presenting a tab for overriding relation with said latch to support the holder at raised position through said lever, and latch release means on said carriage escapement means for causing the lever to return the holder to printing position automatically upon operation of said carriage escapement means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,788,110 Page Apr. 9, 1951 

